Dreamland

Awa felt a sudden pang in her chest. She raised her face and looked confused at the rows of grey houses and dead gardens, magic swirls appearing here and there in the air. She whispered:

"Geral? Noviel?"

She sighed. Now she knew where they were!

Yes, she knew they were there somewhere further away; she knew the direction and roughly the distance, and she knew they were in danger, but how did they get there? Confused, she looked around, afraid to make noises. Those ningo-dogs that she had heard were much closer to her.

How did the two get so far away? Something must have happened. The best would be to go to them; together, they were stronger. There must be a way how they got there. As she was looking around, she suddenly felt another sharp pain in her heart that forced her to stop.

Her eyes went round, and she put her hand over her heart. She could barely intake air.

"Ma?"

Something terrible happened. She turned towards the city.:Anabella was in danger of death.

Her indecision, her doubts vanished. Even her fear of the ningo-dogs vanished. With determination in her eyes, she started running.

"Ma!! Anabella!"

From the side, a giant ningo-dog took the chase. It sprang out of the shadow like a greyhound freed to chase a running rabbit.

She barely looked at it, and the dog burst into flames. She felt the magic from the kill gathering in her veins. She clenched her fists and started to run faster.

"Ma!"

Another couple of dogs started running behind her. They were fast! Faster than her. She barely turned her head, and the two ignited like running torches. One of them fell instantly while the other followed her with another two jumps before it crumbled.

She took a deep breath, then drank a mana potion in small gulps continuing her run.

Tears ran down her face. Her lungs started to burn, but she forced air into them and her feet to run faster. A group of three ningo dogs appeared from the side. The leader barked viciously while the two on its sides started running towards her.

She wondered for a second: how intelligent were these dogs? She knew she did not have enough mana for all three, even with the mana potion she had just ingested, and it seemed the dogs knew the same. Are the two sacrificing themselves just to let the third kill her?

She let them come closer, thinking about what she could do. Try to barricade herself into a house? But she must help Anabella! Even... even if she would die for it... but dying here to the dogs does not help... As the fast dogs came dangerously close to her, she grinned; she knew the answer: ambient mana. She could use ambient mana! That skill that she had learned had taught her to use ambient mana, and there was plenty of it here. She did not stop running while she ignited their fur. A second later, they were running torches.

The third dog, a step behind, yowled, a long caterwaul, then jumped at her, but its fur was already burning. It did not reach her.

She felt more magic gathering in her as she forced her feet to run faster. There were more shadows running, but she ignored them. Too far away. She had eyes only for that house that she could now see, but the pang in her heart intensified. She knew she was too late!!

She should be there at the door! A wave of emotions passed through her body as she pushed herself to give even more. A vein burst in her eye as she teleported straight in front of the door. She hit the door with the shoulder and was almost thrown back. Luckily she grasped the door latch, and the door opened. She entered the house like a drunkard hitting the door and then the wall, unsteady on her feet.

However, she did not wait for a second; she knew to run to the right and then the next door left.

Her vision was troubled, and her left eye was in pain. Blood was running from her nose as she had over-strained herself. She was low on mana and feeling nauseated, wobbling on her feet.

A terrible image came in front of her eyes: Anabella was lying in a chair, her head to the side, foam dripping from her mouth. Zera was writhing on the floor, losing blood from a wound in her belly. Sarah stood in front of her with a knife in her hand. She was also bleeding from a wound on her leg.

Hearing her, Sarah turned and raised her knife. She raised her trembling hand, but nothing happened. Not enough ambient mana.